LECTURE 8: THE PAX ROMANA
The Roman Empire is the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and the Mediterranean. Usually, "Roman Empire" is the term used to describe the Roman state after the establishment of rule by emperors, but is sometimes in non-specialist contexts used more generally to refer to the expansionary Roman state both after and before the time of the first emperor, Augustus. The 500-year-old Roman Republic (510 BC – 1st century BC), which precedes it conceptually, had been weakened by the civil wars of the Late Republic. Losing most of the territory it had acquired at its height between the 4th and 8th century, it continued through major changes until the end of the European Middle Ages, when in 1453 its capital fell to the Ottoman Turks. [4] In its medieval form, it is usually referred to as the Byzantine Empire.
Several dates are commonly proposed to mark the transition from Republic to Empire, including the date of Julius Caesar's appointment as perpetual dictator (44 BC), the victory of Caesar's heir Octavian at the Battle of Actium (September 2 31 BC), and the Roman Senate's granting to Octavian the honorific Augustus. (January 16 27 BC).[5]
The Latin term Imperium Romanum (Roman Empire), probably the best-known Latin expression where the word imperium denotes a territory, indicates the part of the world under Roman rule. Roman expansion began in the days of the Republic, but reached its zenith under Emperor Trajan. At this territorial peak, the Roman Empire controlled approximately 5,900,000 km² (2,300,000 sq mi) of land surface. Because of the Empire's vast extent and long endurance, Roman influence upon the language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law and government of nations around the world lasts to this day.
Traditionally, historians make a distinction between the Principate, the period following Augustus until the Crisis of the Third Century, and the Dominate, the period from Diocletian until the end of the empire in the west. According to this distinction, during the Principate (from the Latin word princeps, meaning "first citizen") the realities of absolutism were formally concealed behind republican forms; while during the Dominate (from the word dominus, meaning "master" or "owner") imperial power was clearly shown, with golden crowns and ornate imperial ritual. More recently, historians have established that the situation was far more nuanced: certain historical forms continued until the Byzantine period, more than one thousand years after they were created, and displays of imperial majesty were common from the earliest days of the Empire.
The Battle of Actium resulted in the defeat and subsequent suicides of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Octavian had also executed Cleopatra's young son and co-ruler, Caesarion. Caesarion may have been the (only) son of Julius Caesar. Therefore, by killing Caesarion, Octavian removed any possibility of a male rival emerging with closer blood ties to Julius Caesar. Octavian, now sole ruler of Rome, began a full-scale reformation of military, fiscal and political matters. These were intended to stabilize and pacify the Roman world and also to cement acceptance of the new regime.
Upon Octavian's accession as ruler of the Roman world, the Roman Senate gave Octavian the name Augustus. He had already adopted the title imperator, "commander-in-chief", as his first name. It was a term that dated back to the days of the Republic and later evolved into emperor.
As adopted heir of Caesar, Augustus preferred to be called by this name. Caesar was a component of his family name. Julio-Claudian rule lasted for almost a century (from Julius Caesar in the mid-1st century BC to the emperor Nero in the mid-1st century AD). By the time of the Flavian Dynasty, and the reign of Vespasian, and that of his two sons, Titus and Domitian, the term Caesar had evolved, almost de facto, from a family name into a formal title. Derivatives of this title (such as czar and kaiser) endure to this day.
The Roman legions, which had reached an unprecedented number (around 50) because of the civil wars, were reduced to 28. Several legions, particularly those with members of doubtful loyalties, were simply disbanded. Other legions were amalgamated, a fact hinted by the title Gemina (Twin).[6] Augustus also created nine special cohorts, ostensibly to maintain the peace in Italy, keeping at least three of them stationed at Rome. These cohorts became known as the Praetorian Guard.
Octavian realized that autocracy and kingship were things that Romans had not experienced for centuries, and were wary of. Octavian did not want to be viewed as a tyrant and sought to retain the illusion of the constitutional republic. He attempted to make it seem as though the constitution of the Roman Republic was still functional. Even Rome's past dictators, such as the brutal Lucius Cornelius Sulla, had only ruled Rome for short spans of time, never more than a year or two (with the exception of Julius Caesar). In 27 BC, Octavian officially tried to relinquish all his extraordinary powers to the Roman Senate. In a carefully staged way, the senators, who by this time were mostly his partisans, refused and begged him to keep them for the sake of the republic and the people of Rome. Reportedly, the suggestion of Octavian stepping down as consul led to rioting amongst the Plebeians in Rome. A compromise was reached between the Senate and Octavian, known as the First Settlement. This agreement gave Augustus legitimacy as an autocrat of the people, and ensured that he would not be considered a tyrant, starting the long period that would be known as Pax Romana.
Octavian split with the Senate the governorships of the provinces. The unruly provinces at the borders, where the vast majority of the legions were stationed, were administrated by imperial legates, chosen by the emperor himself. These provinces were classified as imperial provinces. The governors of the peaceful senatorial provinces were chosen by the Senate. These provinces were usually peaceful and only a single legion was stationed in the senatorial province of Africa.
Before the Senate controlled the treasury, Augustus had mandated that the taxes of the Imperial provinces be destined to the Fiscus, which was administrated by persons chosen by, and answerable only to, Augustus. The revenue of the senatorial provinces continued to be sent to the Aerarium, under the supervision of the Senate. This effectively made Augustus richer than the Senate, and more than able to pay the salarium (salary) of the legionaries, ensuring their continued loyalty. This was ensured by the Imperial province of Roman Egypt, which was incredibly wealthy and also the most important grain supplier for the whole empire. Senators were forbidden to even visit this province, as it was largely considered the personal fiefdom of the emperor himself.
Augustus renounced his consulship in 23 BC, but retained his consular imperium, leading to a second compromise between Augustus and the Senate known as the Second Settlement. Augustus was granted the authority of a tribune (tribunicia potestas), though not the title, which allowed him to convene the Senate and people at will and lay business before it, veto the actions of either the Assembly or the Senate, preside over elections, and gave him the right to speak first at any meeting. Also included in Augustus's tribunician authority were powers usually reserved for the Roman censor; these included the right to supervise public morals and scrutinize laws to ensure they were in the public interest, as well as the ability to hold a census and determine the membership of the Senate. No tribune of Rome ever had these powers, and there was no precedent within the Roman system for consolidating the powers of the tribune and the censor into a single position, nor was Augustus ever elected to the office of Censor. Whether censorial powers were granted to Augustus as part of his tribunician authority, or he simply assumed these responsibilities, is still a matter of debate.
In addition to tribunician authority, Augustus was granted sole imperium within the city of Rome itself; all armed forces in the city, formerly under the control of the praefects, were now under the sole authority of Augustus. Additionally, Augustus was granted imperium proconsulare maius (power over all proconsuls), the right to interfere in any province and override the decisions of any governor. With maius imperium, Augustus was the only individual able to grant a triumph to a successful general as he was ostensibly the leader of the entire Roman army.
All of these reforms were highly unusual in the eyes of Roman republican tradition, but the Senate was no longer composed of the republican patricians who had the courage to murder Caesar. Most of these senators had died in the Civil Wars, and the leaders of the conservative Republicans in the senate, such as Cato and Cicero, had long since died. Octavian had purged the Senate of any remaining suspect elements and planted the body with his own partisans. How free a hand the Senate had in all these transactions, and what backroom deals were made, remains unknown.
Attempting to secure the borders of the empire upon the rivers Danube and Elbe, Octavian ordered the invasions of Illyria, Moesia, and Pannonia (south of the Danube), and Germania (west of the Elbe). At first everything went as planned, but then disaster struck. The Illyrian tribes revolted and had to be crushed, and three full legions under the command of Publius Quinctilius Varus were ambushed and destroyed at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9 by Germanic tribes led by Arminius. Being cautious, Augustus secured all territories west of Rhine and contented himself with retaliatory raids. The rivers Rhine and Danube became the permanent borders of the Roman empire in the North.
The age of Augustus is far more poorly documented than the late Republican period that preceded it. While Livy wrote his magisterial history during Augustus's reign and his work covered all of Roman history through 9 BC, only epitomes survive of his coverage of the late Republican and Augustan periods. Important primary sources for this period include:
- Res Gestae Divi Augusti, Augustus's highly partisan autobiography,
- Historiae Romanae by Velleius Paterculus, a disorganized work which remains the best annals of the Augustan period,
- Controversiae and Suasoriae of Seneca the Elder.
Though primary accounts of this period are few, works of poetry, legislation and engineering from this period provide important insights into Roman life. Archaeology, including maritime archaeology, aerial surveys, epigraphic inscriptions on buildings, and Augustan coinage, has also provided valuable evidence about economic, social and military conditions.
Secondary sources on the Augustan Age include Tacitus, Dio Cassius, Plutarch and Lives of the Twelve Caesars by Suetonius. Josephus's Jewish Antiquities is the important source for Judea in this period, which became a province during Augustus's reign.
Augustus had three grandsons by his daughter Julia. None of the three lived long enough to succeed him. He therefore was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, the son of his wife Livia from her first marriage. Augustus was a scion of the gens Julia (the Julian family), one of the most ancient patrician clans of Rome, while Tiberius was a scion of the gens Claudia, only slightly less ancient than the Julians. Their three immediate successors were all descended both from the gens Claudia, through Tiberius's brother Nero Claudius Drusus, and from gens Julia, either through Julia the Elder, Augustus's daughter from his first marriage (Caligula and Nero), or through Augustus's sister Octavia Minor (Claudius). Historians thus refer to their dynasty as "Julasio-Claudide".
The early years of Tiberius's reign were peaceful and relatively benign. Tiberius secured the overall power of Rome and enriched its treasury. However, Tiberius's reign soon became characterized by paranoia and slander. In 19, he was widely blamed for the death of his nephew, the popular Germanicus. In 23 his own son Drusus died. More and more, Tiberius retreated into himself. He began a series of treason trials and executions. He left power in the hands of the commander of the guard, Lucius Aelius Sejanus. Tiberius himself retired to live at his villa on the island of Capri in 26, leaving administration in the hands of Sejanus, who carried on the persecutions with relish. Sejanus also began to consolidate his own power; in 31 he was named co-consul with Tiberius and married Livilla, the emperor's niece. At this point he was "hoisted by his own petard": the emperor's paranoia, which he had so ably exploited for his own gain, was turned against him. Sejanus was put to death, along with many of his associates, the same year. The persecutions continued until Tiberius's death in 37.
At the time of Tiberius's death most of the people who might have succeeded him had been brutally murdered. The logical successor (and Tiberius's own choice) was his grandnephew, Germanicus's son Gaius (better known as "Caligula" or "little boots"). Caligula started out well, by putting an end to the persecutions and burning his uncle's records. Unfortunately, he quickly lapsed into illness. The Caligula that emerged in late 37 demonstrated features of mental instability that led modern commentators to diagnose him with such illnesses as encephalitis, which can cause mental derangement, hyperthyroidism, or even a nervous breakdown (perhaps brought on by the stress of his position). Whatever the cause, there was an obvious shift in his reign from this point on, leading his biographers to think he was insane.
Most of what history remembers of Caligula comes from Suetonius, in his book Lives of the Twelve Caesars. According to Seutonius, Caligula once planned to appoint his favorite horse Incitatus to the Roman Senate. He ordered his soldiers to invade Britain to fight the Sea God Neptune, but changed his mind at the last minute and had them pick sea shells on the northern end of France instead. It is believed he carried on incestuous relations with his sisters. He ordered a statue of himself to be erected in the Temple at Jerusalem, which would have undoubtedly led to revolt had he not been dissuaded from this plan by his friend king Herod. He ordered people to be secretly killed, and then called them to his palace. When they did not appear, he would jokingly remark that they must have committed suicide. In 41, Caligula was assassinated by the commander of the guard Cassius Chaerea. The only member of the imperial family left to take charge was his uncle, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus.
Claudius had long been considered a weakling and a fool by the rest of his family. He was, however, neither paranoid like his uncle Tiberius, nor insane like his nephew Caligula, and was therefore able to administer the empire with reasonable ability. He improved the bureaucracy and streamlined the citizenship and senatorial rolls. He also proceeded with the conquest and colonization of Britain (in 43), and incorporated more Eastern provinces into the empire. He ordered the construction of a winter port for Rome, at Ostia, thereby providing a place for grain from other parts of the Empire to be brought in inclement weather.
In his own family life, Claudius was less successful. His wife Messalina cuckolded him; when he found out, he had her executed and married his niece, Agrippina the Younger. She, along with several of his freedmen, held an inordinate amount of power over him, and although there are conflicting accounts about his death, she may very well have poisoned him in 54. Claudius was deified later that year. The death of Claudius paved the way for Agrippina's own son, the 17-year-old Lucius Domitius Nero.
Nero ruled from 54 to 68. During his rule, Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and increasing the cultural capital of the empire. He ordered the building of theatres and promoted athletic games. His reign included a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire (58–63), the suppression of the Brython revolt (60–61) and improving cultural ties with Greece. Nero, though, is remembered as a tyrant and the emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned" in 64. A military coup drove Nero into hiding. Facing execution at the hands of the Roman Senate, he reportedly committed suicide in 68. According to Cassius Dio, Nero's last words were "Jupiter, what an artist perishes in me!"[7]
In peacetime it was relatively easy to manage the empire from its capital city, Rome. Rebellions were expected to occur from time to time: a general or a governor would gain the loyalty of his officers through a mixture of personal charisma, promises and simple bribes. A conquered tribe would rebel, or a conquered city would revolt. This would be a bad, but not a catastrophic, event. The Roman legions were spread around the borders, and the rebel leader would—in normal circumstances—have only one or two legions under his command. Loyal legions would be detached from other points of the empire, and would eventually drown the rebellion in blood. This happened even more easily in cases of a small local native uprising, as the rebels would normally have no great military experience. Unless the emperor was weak, incompetent, hated, and/or universally despised, these rebellions would be a local and isolated event.
During real wartime however, which could develop from a rebellion or an uprising, like the massive Jewish rebellion, this was totally and dangerously different. In a full-blown military campaign, the legions under the command of the generals like Vespasian were of a much greater number. Therefore a paranoid or wise emperor would hold some members of the general's family as hostages, to make certain of the latter's loyalty. In effect, Nero held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis the governor of Ostia, who were respectively the younger son and the brother-in-law of Vespasian. In normal circumstances this would be quite enough. In fact, the rule of Nero ended with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard who had been bribed in the name of Galba. It became all too obvious that the Praetorian Guard was a sword of Damocles, whose loyalty was all too often bought and who became increasingly greedy. Following their example the legions at the borders would also increasingly participate in the civil wars. This was a dangerous development as this would weaken the whole Roman Army.
The main enemy in the West were, arguably, the "barbarian tribes" beyond the Rhine and the Danube. Augustus had tried to conquer them, but ultimately failed and these "barbarians" were greatly feared. But by and large they were left in peace, in order to fight amongst themselves, and were simply too divided to pose a serious threat.
In the East lay the empire of Parthia (Persia). Crassus, a member of the First Triumvirate during the late republic, attempted an invasion in 53 BC, but was defeated by Persian forces led by Surena in the Battle of Carrhae. Any Parthian invasion was confronted and usually defeated, but the threat itself was ultimately impossible to destroy. Parthia would eventually become Rome's greatest rival and foremost enemy.
In the case of a Roman civil war these two enemies would seize the opportunity to invade Roman territory in order to raid and plunder. The two respective military frontiers became a matter of major political importance because of the high number of legions stationed there. All too often the local generals would rebel, starting a new civil war. To control the western border from Rome was easy, as it was relatively close. To control both frontiers, at the same time, during wartime, was somewhat more difficult. If the emperor was near the border in the East, chances were high that an ambitious general would rebel in the West and vice versa. It was no longer enough to be a good administrator; emperors were increasingly near the troops in order to control them and no single Emperor could be at the two frontiers at the same time. This problem would plague the ruling emperors time and time again and many future emperors would follow this path to power.
The forced suicide of emperor Nero, in 68, was followed by a brief period of civil war (the first Roman civil war since Antony's death in 31 BC) known as the "year of the four emperors". Between June 68 and December 69, Rome witnessed the successive rise and fall of Galba, Otho and Vitellius until the final accession of Vespasian, first ruler of the Flavian dynasty. This period of civil war has become emblematic of the cyclic political disturbances in the history of the Roman Empire. The military and political anarchy created by this civil war had serious implications, such as the outbreak of the Batavian rebellion.
The Flavians, although a relatively short-lived dynasty, helped restore stability to an empire on its knees. Although all three have been criticized, especially based on their more centralized style of rule, they issued reforms that created a stable enough empire to last well into the 3rd century. However, their background as a military dynasty led to further marginalization of the senate, and a conclusive move away from princeps, or first citizen, and toward imperator, or emperor.
Vespasian was a remarkably successful Roman general who had been given rule over much of the eastern part of the Roman Empire. He had supported the imperial claims of Galba, after whose death Vespasian became a major contender for the throne. Following the suicide of Otho, Vespasian was able to take control of Rome's winter grain supply in Egypt, placing him in a good position to defeat his remaining rival, Vitellius. On December 20 69, some of Vespasian's partisans were able to occupy Rome. Vitellius was murdered by his own troops and, the next day, Vespasian, then sixty years old, was confirmed as Emperor by the Senate.
Vespasian was able to liberate Rome from the financial burdens placed upon it by Nero's excesses and the civil wars. To do this, he not only increased taxes, but created new forms of taxation. Also, through his power as censor, he was able to carefully examine the fiscal status of every city and province, many paying taxes based upon information and structures more than a century old. Through this sound fiscal policy, he was able to build up a surplus in the treasury and embark on public works projects. It was he who first commissioned the Amphitheatrum Flavium (Colosseum); he also built a forum whose centerpiece was a temple to Peace. In addition, he allotted sizable subsidies to the arts, creating a chair of rhetoric at Rome.
Titus, the eldest son of Vespasian, had been groomed to rule. He had served as an effective general under his father, helping to secure the east and eventually taking over the command of Roman armies in Syria and Iudaea, quelling the significant Jewish revolt going on at the time. He shared the consul for several years with his father and received the best tutelage. Although there was some trepidation when he took office because of his known dealings with some of the less respectable elements of Roman society, he quickly proved his merit, even recalling many exiled by his father as a show of good faith.
However, his short reign was marked by disaster: in 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted in Pompeii, and in 80, a fire destroyed much of Rome. His generosity in rebuilding after these tragedies made him very popular. Titus was very proud of his work on the vast amphitheater begun by his father. He held the opening ceremonies in the still unfinished edifice during the year 80, celebrating with a lavish show that featured 100 gladiators and lasted 100 days. Titus died in 81, at the age of 41 of what is presumed to be illness; it was rumored that his brother Domitian murdered him in order to become his successor, although these claims have little merit. Whatever the case, he was greatly mourned and missed.
In 112, provoked by Parthia's decision to put an unacceptable king on the throne of Armenia, a kingdom over which the two great empires had shared hegemony since the time of Nero some fifty years earlier, Trajan marched first on Armenia. He deposed the king and annexed it to the Roman Empire. Then he turned south into Parthia itself, taking the cities of Babylon, Seleucia and finally the capital of Ctesiphon in 116. He continued southward to the Persian Gulf, whence he declared Mesopotamia a new province of the empire and lamented that he was too old to follow in the steps of Alexander the Great. But he did not stop there. Later in 116, he captured the great city of Susa. He deposed the Parthian King Osroes I and put his own puppet ruler Parthamaspates on the throne. Never again would the Roman Empire advance so far to the east.
Despite his own excellence as a military administrator, Hadrian's reign was marked by a general lack of major military conflicts but to defend the vast territories the empire had. He surrendered Trajan's conquests in Mesopotamia, considering them to be indefensible. There was almost a war with Parthia around 121, but the threat was averted when Hadrian succeeded in negotiating a peace. Hadrian's army crushed a massive Jewish uprising in Judea (132–135) led by Simon Bar Kokhba.
READING FOR THE NEXT LECTURE
